2024 In Review

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your support of Street Wise Arts over the past year! We are excited to share our program highlights with our ARTivist community. 

Street Wise Mural Festival (SWMF) made its return in 2024! Artists installed 19 new murals highlighting themes of environmentalism and climate action. Meaningful community events like art exhibitions, art and activism market, live music, panel discussions, workshops, and more further engaged the public around festival themes. Ninety percent of festival attendees agree that our Mural Festival positively contributes to making the City of Boulder an arts destination. 

In the last year, our Youth Programs saw an 89.6% increase in student participation, almost doubling our reach from 2023. Street Wise expanded youth programming to Aurora Public Schools, further expanding our reach throughout the Denver Metro area and bringing engaging arts education to even more students. 

Street Wise Arts continued to develop new and existing partnerships with local businesses and organizations. Our collaboration with Boulder Creek Festival grew to include a Community Mural Project in addition to the annual Art Battle showcasing 10 local artists live painting functional objects. We developed key collaborations for the 2024 SWMF with local art and environmental organizations to increase community awareness for all partners. 

Additionally, participation in our mural tours increased by 60% with 240 people attending mural walking, biking, or private tours. We continue to offer creative and engaging tour offerings with special tours during Boulder Arts Week and Street Wise Mural Festival, and collaborations with local businesses like Native Roots and Sanitas Brewing. 

Looking ahead to the new year, we aim to...

• Increase student participation in Youth Programs to reach more students throughout the Front Range.

• Expand mural installation and community programming to locations throughout Boulder County. 

• Secure a physical home base in Boulder to help us reach more youth and community members through educational and creative events.

• And stay tuned for new mural tour routes in 2025! 

Since 2017, Street Wise Arts has catalyzed bringing creativity, diversity, and community to our cultural landscape, schools, and city streets. We are extremely close to reaching our year-end fundraising goal of $25,000! Please consider contributing to our year-end fundraising campaign. Your donation will bring more public art and free education programs to the Front Range in 2025.

With gratitude,

Leah Brenner Clack, Allyson Burbeck, Allison Greene, and Christine Stadnik-Poteroba

Street Wise Arts Team

Street Wise Mural Festival Highlights 

Photo by Cam Margera

• 21 artists painted 19 new murals throughout the City of Boulder.

• Launched the Emerging Artist Mentorship Program, pairing 4 emerging artists with experienced muralists. 

• Launched the Skateboard Deck Design Competition with 303 Boards, showcasing the designs of 21 local artists competing to have 303 Boards reproduce a limited run of their decks.  

• 89% of attendees strongly agreed that Street Wise Mural Festival provides a platform for historically underrepresented artists (womxn, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ artists).

Youth Program Highlights 

• Youth programming ranges from after-school programs, in-school artist residencies, panel discussions, artist talks, workshops, and tours. 

• 285 students involved in mural programming and installation;

• 325 students reached in hands-on art making workshops; 

• 738 students participated in guest speaker engagements and artist panel discussions; 

• 74 students participated in mural walking tours; 

• and 289 students participated in community activations. 

Community Partnerships + Events Highlights 

• New partnership with Upslope Brewery, including community artmaking events during Boulder Arts Week and Upslope Holiday Bazaar, and Pints for the People program beneficiary.

• Continued partnership with local artist Grow Love to host 2-Day Spray Painting Workshop for All Skill Levels. 

• Growing partnership with Boulder Creek Festival, adding Community Mural Project painted in the Kids Zone in addition to live painting of Adirondack chairs by local artists for fundraising auction during the 3rd Annual Art Battle.

• Expansion of community partnerships for SWMF, including key partnerships with Roots Music Project, Native American Rights Fund + Tribal Water Institute, The Spark Performing Arts, Creative Nations, GreenSheen Paint, Boulder Watershed Collective, Oceans First Institute, Harvest of Hope Food Pantry, Groundworks Art Lab, and CMCI Studio at CU Boulder.

Mural Tour Highlights 

Photo by Max Brager

• 240 participants across 24 tour offerings, including monthly public walking and biking tours of existing Street Wise mural projects, plus special festival tours to watch artists in action as they created their murals during the 2024 Mural Festival.

• Special Boulder Arts Week Bike Tour in partnership with Sanitas Brewing.

• 420 Walking Tour in partnership with Native Roots Dispensary. 

Grow Love x Street Wise Arts Mural Workshop

Written by Christine Stadnik-Poteroba

The mural-making workshop hosted by Grow Love in collaboration with Street Wise Arts over the last weekend of April was a fun-filled success. With great luck, even the previously cloudy skies cleared just in time for the outdoor mural installation. 

Colorado-native Grow Love specializes in spray paint; they mastered its nuances and intricacies many years ago when beginning their muralist journey. With a deep-rooted passion for education, Grow Love has opened up the spray painting realm to enthusiasts through a series of hands-on informative workshops. These sessions are not just about technique and art-making; they are about sharing a love for a medium often deemed intimidating.

The mural workshop was an immersive experience, guiding participants through the initial planning stages and financial considerations in creating a mural. Attendees gained insights into understanding materials, the crucial steps of wall preparation, and more. Spanning over two days, this workshop offered a wealth of opportunities for participants to learn, create, and grow.

Inspired by the theme of Grow Love’s latest project for We Don’t Waste, the mural revolved around love for fruits and vegetables. When planning this mural, participants contributed ideas for subject matter ranging from bananas to carrots and mushrooms. In only a few hours, workshop participants installed the mural along an entire wall, learning essential painting techniques along the way.

Keep updated on upcoming workshops featuring local artists by signing up for our newsletter here.

Grow Love’s We Don’t Waste Mural (2024). Photo Courtesy of Grow Love’s Instagram.

2024 Art Battle at Boulder Creek Fest Lineup

Uc Sepia @ozjuahsepia

Uc Sepia is an artist and graffiti muralist. She has been painting for more than 20 years with over 300 murals in the Denver area. Uc Sepia paints whimsical female characters with white opalescent faces, pink puffs around their eyes, castles and teapots on their heads, and colorful clothing. These characters are queens, princesses, warriors, and guardians. She loves to tell stories through her artwork, expressing ideas of love, hope, happiness, and all the challenges people face in a beautiful way. 

Rachel Crosby @leannaraesart

Rachel Crosby, the artist behind Leanna Rae's Art, is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in portraits and illustrations, working with acrylic, oil paint, and mixed media. Rachel strives to create art and educate the younger generation in hopes that they can see and appreciate themselves in our world. Rachel lives and works in Denver, Colorado, and continues to flourish as an artist and an inspiration for up-and-coming young creatives, composing a narrative where WE are included.

Pher01 @pher01

Pher01 has been creating outdoor murals in Colorado for more than ten years. He is passionate about community and events that spark conversation and creative stimuli. Pher01 believes that artistic expression can heal and plays an important role in community growth and conversation.

Nems @artbynems

Nems is a queer Denver-based artist who specializes in realistic nature-inspired paintings. Her work often incorporates resin layers throughout paint to create depth and shadows within the piece. Nems loves the challenge of painting realistically and learning how to use different art mediums such as acrylic, spray paint, and oil paint. She frequently turns her original paintings into wearable merch items to offer her art to wider audiences! Nems is currently working out of Walnut Workshop in the RiNo Arts District.

Kirstie Connon @kirstie.connon.art

Kirstie Connon is an artist living in the mountains of Colorado. She is deeply inspired by the feeling of nature, closely connected to the landscape of the Rocky Mountains. Her artwork reflects the changing of seasons and different textures found in nature, including wildflowers, snow, and expansive vistas. Kirstie’s artwork blends realism painting with a mystical approach as she infuses her work with geometry to highlight the contrast of organic natural textures with sharp symmetry. She has a deep calling to express her passion for growth and healing, integrating her paintings with the feeling of connection she explores through meditation and yoga.

Jennifer Chaparro @amazingstreetpainting

Jennifer Nichols Chaparro was born into an artistic family in Michigan. She attended UCLA, graduating with a degree in Design. She continued to pursue painting while working in advertising and raising her two daughters. In 2004, Jennifer and her daughters began participating in the Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth, Florida. In addition to chalk art, Jennifer has worked with a variety of media such as pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic, gouache, ceramics, and fiber.

Eric Pflug @_garbajio

Eric Pflug is a visual artist working his way up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs through creative expression. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he now calls Colorful Colorado home and draws influence from its mountains, rivers, flora, fauna, and culture. Eric experiments with the mediums of paint, clay, metal, wood, and language. His work shows great breadth; there is something for everyone in his creations. His art encompasses visionary themes through geometric patterns, organic forms, and surreal imagery. Eric uses his creative practice as a mode to foster a personal and interpersonal connection to divine, creative intuition.

Chandler Dolan @chandlerbreeart

Chandler Dolan is an artist who grew up in Denver, Colorado. She has been drawing and painting since she was a child and aims to spread joy and happiness through her work. With a versatile skill set that encompasses animation, painting, drawing, and various other mediums, she hopes to delight anyone looking at it. In a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain, Chandler seeks to be a beacon of light, offering moments of respite and joy through her whimsical creations.

"Bird" J. Hernandez @birdhere_art

"Bird" J. Hernandez is a visual artist based in Denver, Colorado. He honed his acumen for design while in California before moving to Colorado. With a focus on paintings and murals, Bird transforms canvases and urban landscapes into vibrant narratives that captivate the imagination.

3rd Version @3rdversion

Ben Patterson, a.k.a. 3rd Version, began in construction but evolved into a full-time artist with over a decade of experience across four states. 3rd Version is not just a moniker, but a reminder to continually evolve, grow, and push his limits as an artist because the next version is always better.